A lot of words come to mind when I think of my friend Scott Panning.
Smart. Funny. Generous. Faithful. Proud Conservative.
But most of all, this: Passionate.
Scott lived life with a passion that all of us should aspire to. He wasn’t halfway about anything. He wasn’t shy about anything. He wasn’t one to hold back his opinions about anything.
He was passionate about everything.
He loved his country with a passion. He loved the Lord with a passion. He loved talking politics with a passion. He loved baseball with a passion. He loved his friends with a passion. He loved giving back with a passion. He loved helping children with a passion. He sang in church with a passion.
And most of all, he loved his family with a passion. Oh, my, did he ever.
When you had a conversation with Scott Panning about anything, you knew that you were in for the conversation of your life. It could be about music or the Detroit Tigers or water skiing or anything, but whatever the topic was, you knew that Scott was going to bring an enthusiasm unknown to mankind to the conversation.
That’s why I loved that guy so much, and that’s why my heart is absolutely broken today.
My friend Scott passed away unexpectedly on Thanksgiving, leaving behind a devastated family and so many friends who are no doubt just as heartbroken as I am.
We can’t believe our friend is gone. We can’t believe we’ll never be able to have one more passionate conversation with him about music or the Detroit Tigers or water skiing or whatever.
It’s all so hard to believe, and it’s all so incredibly sad.
But here’s the thing: It’s also a reminder to all of us that if we can live our lives with just a smidgen of the passion that Scott had, the world will be a better place.
So I’m sad – incredibly sad – but I’m also grateful that I had the privilege of counting this man among my most cherished friends.
And if you never had the honor of meeting Scott, when I tell you about what he did with his life – and the lives he touched – you’ll be just as inspired as I am.
Scott lived in Hamburg and Hartland during his time in Livingston County, and even though he wasn’t famous here, he touched more lives than he ever realized through his kindness and generosity.
Here’s the short version of his life story.
The son of a Lutheran pastor, Scott grew up in West Michigan and played baseball at Ferris State University, and upon graduation, he took a job in Atlanta in chemical sales.
Soon after that, he was transferred to Memphis. He went on a blind date with a girl from Hartland named Jennifer Tenaglia who was also living in Memphis, and these two kids from Michigan fell in love and got married.
A few years and jobs later, they found themselves back in Michigan, where they decided to start a tile business. They got a lot of help and direction from Jennifer’s dad, Ralph, a successful Hartland businessman who knew the tile business like the back of his hand.
Scott and Jen called the new company Artisan Tile. They borrowed $15,000 from Scott’s 401(k) to get it up and running, and literally had to scratch and claw to grow the business. More than a few times, they took huge cash advances off their credit cards to make payroll.
And, well, it all paid off. Thanks to their hard work and smarts and tenacity, Artisan Tile became a HUGE success. Even if you’ve never heard of Scott and Jen’s company before, you’ve seen and walked all over their work.
They did the tile for Detroit Metro Airport’s McNamara Terminal. They did the tile at almost every school building in Pinckney. They did the tile at Hartland High School. They did the tile at hospitals and companies and Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit.
They did very, very well. Jennifer was the company’s president – one of the only female CEOs in a field dominated by male Italians – and Artisan Tile became a genuine American business success story.
And this is the part of the story where most people would take their money, buy a big house and that would be that.
Scott and Jen Panning are not most people. And now you’re going to find out how and why Scott Panning touched so many lives.
I met them in 2002, just as my wife Kathy was getting ready to start a new Christian Montessori preschool at Shalom Lutheran Church in Pinckney called Light of the World Academy.
We were attending Shalom at the time, and Kathy and the pastor there, Kurt Hutchens, had this idea that they wanted to start a Montessori school there.
In order to do that, you need a classroom (the church had that), you need a great Montessori teacher (which Kathy was and is) and you need money. You need to buy equipment and hire staff and figure out how you’re going to pay all the bills before the tuition money starts coming in.
At the time, Scott and Jen had a little girl named Morgen who was about 4 and another little girl named Sloan who was about 1. The Pannings were also attending Shalom Lutheran Church, and when Scott and Jen heard about plans for the school, they not only committed to send their kids there, they volunteered to put up all the money to start it.
Of all the things Scott was passionate about, providing a great Christian education for kids was right at the top of the list. And he didn’t just want that option for his own kids – he wanted it for ALL the families who might want it.
So Scott and Jen paid all the money to get the school started, and then Scott volunteered to serve as president of the school board. Every time the school would hit a financial rough patch in the early years, he offered to help out.
My wife is still the director of Light of the World Academy, and the school is getting ready to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. In 2015, the K-8 school became a public charter school. The preschool program is still located at Shalom Lutheran Church.
Every family who has ever sent their child to Light of the World Academy – and there are thousands of current students and alumni now – should know this: None of that would have been possible had it not been for Scott and Jen Panning.
Light of the World Academy would not exist were it not for Scott. If you’re a LOTWA parent or family, you owe a debt of gratitude to this man you probably never met.
And the same thing is true for Livingston Christian Schools.
When Scott’s daughters, Morgen and Sloan, aged out of Light of the World Academy, they moved on to Livingston Christian Schools, which was located at the time in Pinckney. Scott became just as involved (and generous) at Livingston Christian.
When the school decided it needed to move to the Brighton area in 2015, Scott spearheaded the effort to help it move to the Brighton Nazarene Church in Genoa Township.
That became a hugely messy affair that’s too complicated to explain here (you can click here for all the details), but suffice it to say that Scott was the one responsible for helping the school move temporarily to Whitmore Lake until the old Genoa Township Board could be thrown out of office, and Scott’s the one who made it possible for the school to eventually move to the Naz.
Were it not for Scott Panning, two schools would not exist today: Light of the World Academy and Livingston Christian Schools.
The fact that you never knew that speaks volumes about who he was. He didn’t do any of it for personal glory or attention. He didn’t even do it just for his own kids (although that was certainly part of the equation).
He did it for EVERY kid who might want an education at those schools.
My wife Kathy adored Scott – not just for starting her school and keeping it alive, but for his passion and drive. She would always come away from every conversation she ever had with Scott with the biggest smile on her face and a huge belly laugh. Almost every day, she often rattles off a Scott Panning quote about something.
We feel the same way, of course, about Jennifer and their kids, Morgen and Sloan. I don’t say something like this lightly, but Scott really had a perfect family. (And he knew it, believe me.) Jennifer Panning is the nicest person you’d ever want to meet, and Morgen and Sloan (grown women now) are smart, successful, God-loving gems.
Kathy has loved every child who has ever come through Light of the World Academy, but if she ever had two kids she adored more than Morgen and Sloan Panning, I can’t think of who they’d be.
I can’t begin to fathom the pain they’re feeling today, but I just hope they know how loved Scott was.
And it’s important to know that Scott wasn’t just generous when it came to those two schools. Scott and Jen gave SO MUCH to so many other worthy Livingston County organizations. They supported everything from LACASA to the Arc of Livingston. They supported St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and Detroit Children’s Hospital. They gave generously to Shalom Lutheran Church. They established scholarships at Jen’s alma mater, Northwood University.
When the lockdown hit and teen depression started to skyrocket, Scott felt especially compelled to help Christian youth organizations, so he gave to the Children’s Grief Center, Campus Crusade, KnowResolve (which provides services related to mental health and suicide prevention for youth), Grace Centers of Hope and Cru Campus Ministry.
Back in 2004, the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus did a story on Scott and Jen (one of the only times he was ever in the paper). In it, he talked about his Christian faith, he talked about his kids and he talked about his philosophy on life. The story ended with this quote from Scott:
“If you do well and have been successful, you’re obligated to turn around and share it.”
That sums him up perfectly. He said those words 17 years ago, and he lived those words every day since then.
I had countless conversations with Scott through the years, and today, I’m thinking back on every one of them. He made me think, he made me laugh, he made me smile. And he always inspired me.
Livingston County is a better place because of him. Every person who ever knew and loved Scott is better because of him. I certainly am.
God bless and keep you, Scott Panning. Rest in peace, my friend.
Visitation and funeral details for Scott Panning are available here. If you’d like to continue his legacy of giving please consider making a donation to Wreaths Across America by clicking here.
